Present methods of high school and college instruction in history, namely, the instructor centered approaches, have made the study of history irrelevant for many students, and hence objectives for teaching history are seldom realized. Even good lectures, and most discussion classes, result in the student acting as a passive observer, never establishing an individual relationship to the subject matter. If history teachers were to see their objective as making historians out of students, rather than creating knowing minds, they could help create independent minds capable of critical thinking, and an appreciation of the values of history. This methodological approach involves permitting students to do, on their own, what historians do--deciding what questions are worth answering, securing information from many sources; and critically evaluating those sources of information. While Latin American history is not under direct attack, it is not unaffected by the current crisis in history teaching. Unless instruction is personalized and aimed at teaching the historical skills, history will not be able to justify its existence in the curriculum. (JLB)